Scientists from
the University of Melbourne in Australia have raised concerns following
their discovery of a single gene that gives vinegar flies resistance
to a wide range of pesticides. The scientists are worried as this single
mutation unexpectedly provides the fly (Drosophila sp) with resistance
to a range of commonly available, but chemically unrelated, pesticides.
Significant also, is this species is rarely targeted with pesticides
and many of the chemicals it is resistant to, it has never been exposed
to before.

Researchers at the
University of Melbourne and the Centre for Environmental Stress and
Adaptation Research (CESAR) that made the discovery believe the mutation
arose in Drosophila soon after the introduction of DDT and has since
spread throughout the world. The gene has also persisted rather than,
as expected, disappearing as the use of DDT around the world declined.

The Drosophila resistance
gene, named Cyp6g1, is part of a large family of genes called the Cytochrome
P450 genes that are found in many species, including humans. Previous
studies have implicated some members of this P450 family in pesticide
resistance. However, the function of the majority of the 90 Drosophila
P450 genes is unknown. CESAR is now analyzing these genes to determine
their function in Drosophila and in the pest insects, the cotton bollworm
(Helicoverpa armigera) and the sheep blowfly responsible for flystrike
(Lucilia cuprina).

In the Drosophila,
Cyp6g1 confers resistance by producing up to 100 times more than the
normal level of protein that breaks down DDT and other pesticides. Given
the number of P450 genes present in Drosophila, it was unexpected that
a single version of one gene could be associated with such widespread
resistance, and
that this resistance also applied to a wide range of compounds that
bear no resemblance to each other in structure or mode of function.
These compounds include organochlorines, organophosphorous, carbamate
and insect growth regulator insecticides.

"Our research,
so far, does not unequivocally demonstrate that Cyp6g1 is the sole culprit
for this resistance, but the current evidence leaves little doubt that
about its central role," says University of Melbourne geneticist,
Dr Phil Batterham, and Program Leader for the Chemical Stress Program
within CESAR, a special research centre that includes researchers from
the Universities of Melbourne, La Trobe and Monash.

Species will normally
lose mutations that protected it against a particular pesticide once
that pesticide ceases to be used. This is because, in the absence of
the pesticide, the mutation suddenly confers a disadvantage. In this
case, the Drosophila has maintained the resistance gene and is still
'fit'. That is, the mutation does not confer any disadvantage, so it
persists in the population.

"This highlights
more than ever that what we do today to control pests could irreversibly
change the gene pool of that species," says Batterham. "Researchers
investigating pesticide resistance sometimes fails to take sufficient
notice of research into Drosophila. It maybe a model genetic organism,
but it is still an insect and things that happen to Drosophila happen
to other insects," he warns. "This research showed how easy
it is for a single mutation to have such a diverse impact. A similar
mutation in a pest species could have devastating consequences,"
he says.

The research is
published in the latest edition of the journal Science. (Daborn, P.J.,
et al. "A Single P450 Allele Associated with Insecticide Resistance
in Drosophila." Science 297(5590): 2253-2256.)